Customer Reviews

A Sudden Change of Heart

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Barbara Taylor Bradford's Woman of Substance was so rich, so well written and so immediate, that the author's first effort made us believe everything that followed would be its equal. This, unfortunately, has not happened. In A Sudden Change of Heart, Bradford's characters are so well-off and so shallow in their daily lives that we do not believe they have the capacity to suffer in the midst of terminal illnesses or remembered past sadnesses. Bradford has steadily gone downhill. Finding myself skipping pages that were so predictable, I imagined Bradford really struggling to get through A Sudden Change of Heart simply to meet a deadline. No agent or publisher would even look at a manuscript like this if the author were not already established as the icon, Barbara Taylor Bradford.

I've read most of BTB's books. When I'm done with them, I donate them or sell them. But to me "A Sudden Change of Heart" was one of her best and I'm keeping it.

Even though I agree with some of the other readers, that the "language" the characters spoke was a bit antiquated and formal, I really enjoyed the book.

I was at a doctor's appointment today, and I started to tear while I was reading what happened to Claire. I had to stop for awhile.

The friendship between Laura and Claire is very much alike to my best friend and me. We've known each other since we're 5 & 6 - and we'll be celebrating our 30th anniversary next year - so this kind of friendship does exist.

Don't be afraid to buy this book. Try it, you may like it!

As a formerly ardent fan of Barbara Taylor Bradford's books I was tremendously disappointed with her latest, A Sudden Change of Heart. I read the rambling, waiting for a plot to develop, but never found it. Several times I thought a story line was developing only to be disappointed. This book was definitely not up to the standard we've come to expect from Ms. Bradford. Too bad. Her early works were delightful.

I have just finished reading this book and throughly enjoyed it, it is not often that I am reduced to tears by a book but this one did. It has a interesting storyline and is an easy book to read.

I had heard that Bradford writes "good reads." If it hadn't been for my curiosity about how she resolved the issues of the stolen paintings, I wouldn't have bothered to finish it. The characterizations were so simplistic. Everyone is so NICE! Doug and Laura split without an angry word. Rosa is so sweet. Megan is saccharine. I'm sorry. It just didn't work for me. The writing was bloated. The "lambent" lighting put it over the top. I'll shy away from Bradford from now on.

I wondered as I read this if Ms. Bradford had written this novel much earlier on, and was able to publish it now after she has reached success with other books. This one is so shallow, so jerky, and so filled with characters who are so wooden that I can't believe Ms. Bradford, who is ordinarily a talented writer of engrossing women's contemporary novels, actually wrote this. What happened?

The book did not draw me into this main character. I almost stopped reading the book twice, but gritted it out. Simply put, the supporting characters are more interesting than the main, and that's not saying much.

Working with grandmasgoodies to receive my book was a great experience. I am new to shopping online. So, to have dealt with grandmasgoodies has been a good stepping off point. grandmasgoodies gave prompt service, the product was what was expected. She followed up with a personal e-mail to make sure I was satisfied with my purchase. So, in conclusion, great products, great service. One couldn't ask for more.

While the actress did a fine job, the editing of this story in the abridged audio version of this book was terrible.

Major events and twists came on abruptly, yet other scene's were left in that had little to do with the story. And I was supposed to cheer for two characters who fell in love "off-page"? At least give me something more to work with.

As it was, the writing, especially the dialogue, was overwraught and stilted. Who says to someone "Come sit in the chair opposite me"? Somehow, stage direction became confused with conversation.

Perhaps if I'd listened to the unabridged version of this story, I'd have fewer complaints. But the abridged copy is probably only for those who REALLY want to know what happens in this book, but don't need more than a synopsis.

She just can't do it anymore. She had one decent book back in the 70s, and her whole career has been one anticlimax after another since then. The characters here are one-dimensional and interchangeable: so much so that when I picked the book back up after going for a short walk, I'd forgotten who the main character was! The big question is, Why do they keep putting out her stuff? Even her biggest fans seem to have moved on. I know I have.